I’ve just received my usual daily update from the MoJ ( a great service, by the way!) and read the news of the inaugural meeting of the Criminal Justice Board (CJB).

On reading the aims of the Board, my initial reaction was that, despite the usually tiresome language of government based announcements, the focus of the Board sounded quite noble. Then I looked again, the Board aims to ensure that the Criminal Justice System (CJS)…

reduces crime

reduces re-offending

punishes offenders

protects the public

makes reparation

improves public confidence and

ensures that the system is fair and just

As I said, all very noble – at least on the face of it. No mention of meeting the needs of offenders though. No concern for mediating previous injustices, or ensuring proportionality in sentencing, or promoting the development of increasingly safe custodial settings, or redressing the fact that disproportionately higher numbers of poor people, black people and those with mental health problems find themselves in custody… I could go on.